Play Mate
by LovingYourWork
Summary: A shopping trip was just about as normal as it got for the Winchesters, unfortunately for them, not everyone is shopping for groceries...Alexa wants a new pet and what Alexa wants Alexa gets, and shes got her heart set on a Winchester
1. Alexa

12 year old Alexa was very sad this morning, she had to bury her beloved pet in the forest. He had been a bad pet and tried to escape, when all Alexa had wanted to do was play with him, she had taken very good care of him and fed him well but this morning he had broke free of his chain and ran away. "Daddy Daddy!" she had cried "He's gone!". Henry doted on his daughter and was angry to see Alexa so upset, holding the broken chain. Alexa had chosen this one all by herself this time. "Will you get him back Daddy?" she said her eyes full of tears.

"No sweetie, he's been bad he has to be punished, but I promise we will go shopping for a new one tomorrow, a better one"

"Really Daddy?" she said her eyes shining once more "Can I pick one?" she asked already forgetting about the old one. "Daddy I want you to kill the old one, he's been a bad boy" She announced darkly.

"We'll both go get him, princess, he cant have got far" He said already picking up his rifle, and loading it. Alexa grabbed her own weapon and they headed out the door. It wasnt long before they spotted the fleeing 'pet'. Henry brought it to its knees with one bullet. It went down with an anguished cry as the bullet slammed into its leg. "You got him Daddy!" she announced happily, skipping over to her fallen pet. It cried out softly as Alexa reached down to stroke his hair. "Hush puppy" she whispered "you've been a very bad boy" it whimpered at her icy cold touch, "why did you run away? that was a very bad thing to do" she said looking directly into his eyes " you have to be punished"

"No!" he pleaded "please don't! Im sorry I'll be good I promise"he cried desperately trying to get away from the strange little girl."

"It's too late for sorry" she sing songed "I'm going to get a new pet, I dont need you anymore" She grabbed hold of him by his barely there T Shirt.

"No!" he begged, tears streaming down his dirty face "No please one more chance!"

"You've had your chance" she replied coldly,her childlike innocence gone,shoving her hands deep into his chest

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH" the tortured scream seemed to last forever, as a huge blue light lit up the forest, power coursed through Alexa's veins as she took the very essence of the human beneath her. Eventually the body lay limply and Alexa triumphantly pulled out the boy's heart. Her father watched on proudly. "Very good Alexa" he praised. Alexa slowly stood up, the heart in her hands, she popped it into the plasticbag and wiped her bloody hands on her white dress. "Its a shame Daddy" she said oddly " he was my favourite so far, why do they always run away Daddy, why dont they stay?"

"I promise sweetie, the next one wont escape, I shall make sure of it" he said as they entered the cottage after burying the boy deep in the woods. "The next one will stay forever".

Alexa grinned happily "I want a really nice one then Daddy, a pretty one to take care of forever"

"We shall go shopping tomorrow Alexa, you shall have your new pet, go and take care of your trophy" . Happy with the prospect of having a brand new pet tomorrow, Alexa skipped away contentedly to her room and opened up her cupboard, humming to herself she sought out an empty jar, and wrote out a label, deposited her trophy into the jar and stuck on the label. She admired her collection as she placed her latest jar on the shelf 'Andrew - 24th February - 13th April 2005' She had a nice collection now her favourites were 'Peter' 'Carl' 'Martin' 'Simon' and then her very first 'William - 4th November - 26th July 1858'

"You were all very bad boys" she whispered to the jars " but the next shall be different, he is going to stay forever, my daddy will make sure of it"

Alexa went to bed sleeping soundly of the thought of her next prey. He would be the best one yet, because he was never ever going to leave her. "You will be my play mate forever" she whispered to the empty room.

Dean Winchester woke up with a start, normally it was Sam who had the nightmares but recently it was Dean who had trouble sleeping, he looked over at the bed opposite in the dark motel room, the tall form of his younger brother was outlined, sleeping peacefully. Dean rolled over and sighed groping for the alarm clock, 3.30am. They were both exhausted after the previous days work, hunting down a demon,and whileSammy had got to sleep with relative ease, something was keeping Dean awake and he could not put his finger on it. The hunt had gone relatively easily, the demon was officially toast, the people of Little Hampton could sleep easier at night but Dean couldnt. He got out of his bed as quietly as he could so as not wake Sam and pulled on his jeans and examined his reflection in the bathroom mirror. "You look like shit Winchester" he muttered to himself, dark circles were forming under his eyes from continous lack of sleep. He washed his face and drank some water before clambering back into bed, falling into a restless sleep.

As light streamed into the dingy motel room, it was Sam who rose first, far too chipper for Dean's liking. "Rise and shine Dean" he grinned "It's a beautiful day" Dean groaned and pulled the covers more tightly around him.

"Go away Sam" he moaned "What's got you in such a hyper mood?"

"Nothing, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and pretty soon were getting out of this dump" he replied, eyes shining. "So hurry up and get your ass out of bed!" He said throwing a pillow at Dean's head.

"Why don't you make yourself useful Sammy and go and get us something for breakfast? There's a grocery store across the street."

His brother pouted and was about to reply "It's..." before Dean interrupted "Actually, no on second thoughts we'll both go, dont want you coming back with any of that health food shit" he grinned, quickly pulling on his clothes.

The store was pretty empty save for a middle aged guy and a young girl, it was quite big though and required exploration to find even basic items such as milk. Dean wandered off with his basket, unaware the young girl was watching his every move.

Alexa had got up bright and early to go shopping, her dad had promised somewhere different to where they normally shopped for pets and drove the 65 miles to Little Hampton. Alexa and her father waited in the car park of the grocery store, waiting until somebody caught her eye, lots of young men walked past but Alexa didnt want any of those. Until one walked on by. She let out an excited gasp and her father followed his daughter's gaze to two young men, seemingly brothers enter the store. "I want that one" She declared excitedly.

Henry studied the two young men, hoping she meant the younger looking one, he would be much easier to overpower then the stronger, more powerfully built brother. "The tall one?" He enquired hopefully.

"No" Alexa replied, her eyes fixed lovingly on her new prey. "The other one, the one with the pretty mouth"


	2. New Prey

Henry continued to stare doubtfully after the man Alexa had earmarked as her playmate.

"Honey are you sure? He would be very difficult to overpower without causing a scene. How about the other one, he looks nice enough"

"No!" Alexa snapped "he reminds me of Jordan. I WANT the other one and I know a way to get him easily" She smiled assuredly before wiping a substance onto her hands. "Let's go"

Henry suddenly realised what his daughter was planning "clever girl" he praised, following Alexa into the store after the two boys. "Such a clever girl".

Dean wandered absent- mindedly down the aisles, not even entirely sure what he was looking for, he glanced over the top of the aisles looking for his brother and proceeded to collide straight into that guy. Down went the guy, down went the basket and down went Dean, up went Dean's embarrassment. He immediately started apologising "Look man I'm so sorry I should have been looking where I was going" The man seemed to stare soullessly through Dean and Dean supressed a shudder, he was more than a bit creepy. Out of nowhere the little girl suddenly barrelled towards him.

"Im so sorry mister" She babbled "My papa can not see very well and he could not see where he was going, are you hurt at all?" She said her eyes full of concern, grabbing his hand.

Her hand was icy cold and Dean found himself recoiling a little at her touch. "Er no it's OK, it was really my fault" Dean said embarrassed, his face flushing red as he tried to get to his feet.

"Let me help you" she smiled

"Shouldn't you help your fath..." Dean's voice trailed off, looking around bewildered, he had already gone.

"He's fine" She muttered gripping his arm and hauling him to his feet. Dean was shocked at her touch, she had such a powerful grip for one so young. She was still gripping his arm as he heard a stifled laugh behind him and with horror, Dean realised that Sam had been stood there all along and had witnessed the whole humilating debacle.

Sam was leaning against the shelf a lopsided grin plastered on his face as he watched his brother try to prise the hands of the little girl from his arm.Dean smiled down at the girl, letting her know it was Ok to let go and reluctantly she did, sidling off, still smiling.

"You er need a hand there Dean?" he smirked, desperately trying to keep a straight face as he watched his brotherscrabbling around, retrieving the contents of his basket. " Not a word Sam" Dean scowled "Not a word" he said as they walked to the checkout.

"Aww come on Dean, you gotta admit that was cute!" Sam laughed as the assistant bagged their goods " she had to help you to your feet"

"Just forget it Sam" Dean snapped perhaps a little harsher than he intended. Sam blinked a little in surprise, he was only teasing, what had gotten into Dean?

Dean remained silent the whole of the short walk back and throughout the morning , it was clear something was really bothering him, the truth was Dean was sick, he had no intention of telling Sam though, no point worrying him, it was probably something he ate. But throughout the day, Dean got worse, he could no longer hide it from Sam. He had such a high fever and could barely move. Sam ordered him to bed immediately.

"No Sam, we gotta get out of here" Dean protested "I'll be Ok, I'll lay in the backseat while you drive" he said tossing him the keys to the Impala.

Sam arched an eyebrow, now he knew he there was something seriously wrong. He was about to reply when Dean's face suddenly contorted in agony as pain rippled through him. "Dean!" he cried flying to his brother's bedside "Dean what's wrong?" he said in a panicked voice.

"Can't breathe" Dean managed to gasp, as white hot pain shot through him.

"I'm calling dad" Sam announced, reaching for the phone

"No!" Dean squeaked "I'm OK, really"

"Dean you clearly aren't, OK if you won't let me call dad, atleast let me get you a doctor" Sam said concerned. "Theres one on the bottom floor, I won't be a minute"

"Sam!" Dean groaned, but his brother was already out the door, slamming behind him on its way out. Dean flopped back down onto the bed, desperately trying to ignore the pain, he was sure his temperature had shot up a fair few degrees. What was wrong with him?

The door suddenly opened and his brother stepped back into the room.

"That was quick" Dean commented, seeing nobody behind his brother "where's the doctor?"

"He was erm busy" Sam said mysteriously "but he told me what I needed to do" he said, advancing forward with a syringe, a very dirty looking syringe.

Dean sat up a little straighter, the best he could "like hell, you're putting that in my arm!" he shouted

"Aww whats wrong?" Sam mocked, "Is big brave Dean scared of a little widdle needle?"

Dean knew something was terribly terribly wrong, his brother was acting more than a little strange.

"Sammy" Dean started, studying his brother's reaction, nothing, not so much as a flinch. _Shit._This was definitely not his Sammy despite what the face may show.Sam began walking towards him, Dean couldn't even move, as Sam advanced towards the bed, it was as if his wrists were being pinned down by an invisible force. He opened his mouth to scream but suddenly from nowhere a small little hand, clamped down hard on his mouth.

"Time for your medication, Dean" Sam said triumphantly, inserting the needle. Dean saw a flash of black hair whip past as his vision rapidly dimming, only one thought entered his head as his world faded to black. _Sammy._

Sam ran at a breakneck pace to get to the doctor, hammered on his door but with no answer. Typical, it was just his luck to actually have a doctor in the building and yet he wasn't available. This couldnt be happening, Dean was sick and needed medical attention urgently. Sam knew he only had one option left, he had to get Dean to hospital. He ran up the stairs two at a time to get to their motel room, and then skidded to a stop as he reached the landing, door 213 was wide open and swinging on its hinges, their room.Sam knew he had definitely closed it. His breath caught in his mouth as he without thinking pulled his gun out and inched towards the door.

"Dean!" he whispered, poking his head around the door "Dean are you in there?" His heart dropped and he let out a howl of anguish as he entered the room. "No" he whispered, fear rising. Dean was gone.


	3. Missing

A/N: Forgot to do all this last time, so just thought I'd add a little something. I have to say I have just absolutely fallen head over heels in love with 'Supernatural'. I'm in the UK so am a few eppies behind, I can safely say it will ruin my summer if Supernatural isnt renewed, Im confident it will though and then the next problem for me is if the channel that is currently showing it in the UKwill pick it up again because they have messed around with it of late, grr. Anyhow this is just an idea that I came up with, have no idea where it came from but I decided to go with it and write my first Supernatural fan fic woohoo, am still working on my CSI ones though, such a busy girl!

Disclaimer: Do not own 'Supernatural' never have and never will (sob)

"No, No, No!"Sam's hands went to his head in despair, the bed where Dean should have been lying was empty, the bed clothes ruffled as if Dean had ripped from the mattress. Someone had targetted his brother whilst he was in a weakened state, when he couldn't fight back. Sam sank back down onto the bed, completely at a loss what to do, when he was in trouble Dean would always save him, Dean always knew to do, but now Dean was gone and Sam didn't know what to do. It briefly crossed his mind to call their dad but he quickly scratched that idea, he could do this, he had to do this, Dean was always the hero when they were younger now it was Sam's turn. After the initial shock at finding his brother missing subsided, logical thoughts began to find their way back to Sam. He had only been gone a maximum of ten minutes or so, whoever or whatever took Dean couldn't possibly have got very far. He barrelled out the room and back down the staircase and collided with the cleaning lady, mopping the floor,knockingthe bucket over in his haste."Have you seen my brother?" He yelled at her.

"Where's the fire kid?" She complained at being knocked off her feet and then realising who it was, her eyes widened "Your brother? Kid you on drugs or something? You just took him outside about ten minutes ago, you told me he was sick, how could you forget that? You and that strange little girl"

Sam's heart was fast sinking inside, _Oh god, oh god. "_ Oh right, of course, nevermind" He said taking off into a sprint in the opposite direction, leaving the woman muttering something about 'kids today' as she continued with her work.

Sam didn't know where he was running to, he just ran, the words of the lady, whirring in his head "_you took him outside, you and that little girl" _A shifter. A shifter had taken Dean, from his own motel room no less but the girl? What did she mean? Suddenly the strange events of the morning fell into place for Sam, what happened immediately before Dean got suddenly sick, the girl in the supermarket, she must have done something to him. _Shit._ Sam reached for his cell phone.

Alexa could not contain her delight at seeing her prey succumb so easily to the drugs, his eyes rolled back and closed, and his whole body slumped. Her father, wearing the mask of the brother, quickly pulled Dean up and with difficulty pulled him over his shoulder, he was very heavy, for the second time, he found himself wondering if Alexa was going to live to regret this decision. As they approached the end of the stairwell, Alexa walking ahead, spotted somebody, Henry dropped Dean quickly, and he and Alexa supported him, carrying him like he was injured. The cleaning lady was obviously concerned at the state of the man draped between the young girl and the brother, she had seen on many occasions these past few days. "Is he Ok?" she asked indicating the closed eyes and pale skin of the man.

" I don't know" 'Sam' answered in a worried tone "I'm taking him to hospital"

"You need a hand sugar? I could call an ambulance"

"No, we'll be fine, thanks" 'Sam' said and stumbled on his way. The girl didnt say a word and seemed to stare blankly at the woman, and Beryl could not help but shuddering, what a truly creepy looking child.

Henry and Alexa staggered their way to the car, still carrying Dean between them, nobody noticed them bundle the supposedly sick boy into the dirty looking van, nobody saw them bind his body with ropes and chains so tightly he couldnt move and nobody saw the van disappear out of sight and out of Little Hampton. Nobody saw the kidnapping of Dean Winchester.


	4. Nightmares realised

Sam quickly produced his cell phone, and dialled the number only to be used in an emergency, well this was an emergency in Sam's eyes.

With shaking hands, he gripped the phone "Hello, I know you said not to call but I dont know what to do, Dean's gone dad, something took him, and I dont know what to do to get him back. " His voice shook, he had not been in this position before. "Call me when you get this message. I need your help dad, I need you to tell me what to do". He finished the call slumped against the wall and contemplated his next move, "Dean, where are you?" He wondered aloud.

As her dad was driving them further away with her new pet safely in tow, Alexa was highly delighted, she couldn't resist little sneaking glances into the back of the van to make sure her prize was still there, he was _so_ pretty, the best one she had ever had, this one she would take good care of, this one wouldn't leave her. Her daddy had already made sure of that - his ankles were bound together tightly with rope and chained to the small loop on the vans side wall, chains wrapped around his upper torso, pinning his arms to his side. It was a precautionary measure, Alexa's dad had said, the affects of the drugs would soon be wearing off and it was clear this one was a fighter, who would kick and punch for all he was worth. They couldn't be having that, this one was going to be trouble, Henry knew that but he was Alexa's choice and he had to go with it, what Alexa wanted, she always got.

She continued to watch his steady breathing, he was no longer unconscious, just in a drug induced sleep, he began to groan and show signs of stirring. "Daddy" she yelled "I think he's waking up"

Henry glanced in the mirror, at his daughter, kneeled attentively over the boy "We aren't there yet sweetie, you can't allow that to happen"

"I know Daddy, I'll take care of it" she replied sinisterly.

Before his eyes opened, his lips parted first to speak "Sammy?" he mumbled.

"No" she whispered in his ear, whilst stroking his soft hair "Not Sammy, I'm Alexa, I'm going to take good care of you I promise, you don't have to be afraid"

Confused, Dean slowly opened his eyes, struggling to remember what had happened to him, in his distorted vision, a young girl's face swam into view, she had a very childlike face and long black hair, there was something familiar about her... "Alexa?" he exclaimed, searching her face, that was twisted into a grin "do we know each other?"

Without warning, Alexa lunged forward, placingone grubby little hand over Dean's mouth and injecting into his arm with the other. In an instant Dean remembered, and quickly realised his natural reaction to fightback was severly diminished by being chained down in a moving vehicle. Before succumbing to the inevitable darkness once again, he heard Alexa's chilling reply

"No we don't know each other, but we will do very soon, we shall get to know one another very well indeed..."

Alexa smiled down at him, satisfied, he was once again unconscious, "Are we there yet Daddy?" She called "I'm bored and I'm hungry"

"Not much further princess" He replied from the front.

"Oh good" she whispered to herself, she reached out one of her icy cold hands, to stroke the cheek of the boy "Almost time" she declared, looking intently at his beautiful face, "almost time for you to come home, almost time for you to be my new play mate. She traced her dirty hands across his lips "You're going to stay forever".

Sam, waited almost thirty minutes and still no reply from dad, it looked like he really was on his own with this. He took a deep breath, forcing down his fears and willing himself to think logically. He had to be strong for Dean's sake, he was no good to Dean if he started panicking. The first thing to do was establish exactly what it was that took Dean, the cleaner's account made him think of a shifter but there was a nagging thought about that girl being key that made Sam stop and think. He didn't recall seeing anything in dad's book about creepy girls who look like they have come straight out of _The Ring_, poisoning and kidnapping men. Although he felt bad, about not doing something more well, _practical_ to find Dean, he knew he had to do some research first, if he was to get anywhere. He couldn't just very well fly out there all guns blazing, Dean could be absolutely anywhere. No he had to find out exactly what he was up against first and then kick its ass back to hell, for _daring_ to mess with the Winchesters. He snatched up the keys to the Impala, which luckily Dean had left on the table and headed out the motel. He felt so much better, now that he actually had some kind of plan of action, the public library hall of records were his destination.

It felt beyond weird to be sitting in Dean's pride and joy without Dean being there, hell it even smelt of Dean, he could practically hear Dean's words in his head "You so much as get a scratch or tiny bump on it, so god help me Sammy, your life will not be worth living". Sam would have given anything to hear that threat in person, sighing he inserted the key into the ignition and drove as carefully as he could to the library.

After almost an hours journey, they finally made it back home and Alexa could barely contain her excitement. After only being given a minium dosage Dean had woken once again but rather than knock him out again Alexa had merely blindfolded and gagged him and it was in this state, Henry had to consider how to get him out and into the house with minium problems. The affects of what had initially made him weak had fully worn off now and the boy had got his strength back and was currently struggling with his bonds. Making a decision, Henry quickly detached Dean's feet from the chain and pulled him out headfirst, Dean desperately tried to fight back but the chains were far too tight and annoyingly secure. He was hauledoff hisfeet andcarried forward, still struggling to understand what had happened to him. Dean guessed they had been walking maybe a mile or so when the blindfold was suddenly viciously tugged off and light flooded his world once again. They were walking through a forest that much was clear, not a soul for miles. _Well thats just great_. Dean thought.

But it was his first proper glimpse at his captors that stunned and to be honest, terrified Dean, he had some hazy memories of being knocked unconscious by a drug in a syringe but couldnt recall much until now. Oh god it really _was_ the weird girl and her father from the supermarket! Dean mentally kicked himself for not being more alert, it didn't take a genius to work out the whole thing was staged and she did something to him when she touched him, demon maybe?

The way she looked at him was truly chilling, him and Sam had faced many weird demons, ghosts creatures in their time but none as creepy as this, she was just something else. He flinched as her hand touched his cheek "You have really pretty eyes" she informed him "And a pretty mouth, oh daddy can we let him speak? I want to see his mouth" she said indicating the disgusting material that was wrapped tightly around his mouth.

Dean swallowed his fears and spoke immediately as soon as the gag was gone. "Son of a bitch! Just who the fuck are you people?". He was immediately rewarded by a slog to the face, hard. "No profanities in front of my daughter!" Henry screeched.

Alexa however immediately stepped in front of Dean "No!" she squealed "No, not his lovely face, dont hurt him daddy please don't hurt him!" She cried anxiously checking his face for bruising and cuts. Dean's eyes widened in disbelief and horror, if they didn't want to hurt him, just exactly_ what _did they want him for? His very bad feeling about his situation suddenly got a hell of a lot worse.

Sam had driven most of the short distance to the library when disaster struck as the Impala spluttered and died in protest by the roadside. Sam looked in disbelief at the dashboard in front of him. They never had car trouble, not ever. It was as if the car somehow knew it wasn't Dean behind the wheel and this was its way of protest. "I guess I'm walking then" Sam muttered to himself. He stepped out the car, reluctant to leave it behind but with little choice, he prayed it would be ok. As he looked back, it looked almost well _sad._ "I'll get him back I promise" Sam said softly.

Dean meanwhile was being dragged through woodland, until they reached what looked like a large farmhouse, he had wisely decided to keep quiet, but could not avoid having Alexa stare at him adoringly. He avoided eye contact as best he could and instead preferred to think how the hell he was going to get out of this, whatever it was he in. He was forced over the threshold into the house and led down a narrow staircase and to a door. Alexa announced happily "This is going to be your new home Deany" as the door opened and the contents of the room displayed, Dean's jaw hit the floor in shock and repulsion

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" He exclaimed

TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Research and Torture Updated

Author's Note: Well after saying I would not do it, I left a story on hiatus for almost a year, sorry about that guys but I've been working hard and now have a degree to show for my efforts :) I'm now done and dusted for the summer and can finally get around to updating my stories. To start with I've redone chapter five and added lots more. Regular chapter updates will be coming very soon. I hope you like it.

It was a nursery but of the most sadistic kinds, broken toys were scattered on the floor, chains were hanging from everywhere and blood stained the carpet. Dean eyed his surroundings warily, his hunting abilities immediately kicking in; he looked for possible escape routes. Alexa picked up a long chain and sturdily attatched it to Dean's handcuffs, allowing Dean plenty of movement but still making sure he could not escape.

"I'll be right back" She promised, with a childlike grin, securing the door behind her. As soon as she had gone, Dean started tugging at his bonds, testing the strength of the chains, firstly around his wrists; they were not coming off anytime soon. Then he walked to the huge iron ring, the chain was attached to on the wall, it was sturdy as hell. _Dammit_! Dean cursed; he knew he was stuck with this demon child until Sam figured the hell everything out. Sam was smart, Dean comforted himself '_Sam will find you and then we can laugh about me being captured by a little girl' _He just hoped that Sam was up to the task of being the rescuer rather than the rescued. Dean hated playing the damsel in distress. He stiffened a little as the door opened and in came the little bitch herself. His eyes widened in horror when he saw that she wasn't alone and also at what she carried.

"Time to play Dean" she sing songed.

This was so not a position that Sam had ever hoped to be in. He was completely alone, no dad no Dean and now no Impala. He stumbled along in the dark and cold, finally seeing his destination, the library. It was pretty deserted and Sam gratefully headed for an empty computer, just what exactly was he looking for though? He typed in the town and then 'disappearances' and within seconds he had a backlog of mysterious disappearances around the area, dating as far back as 1894, mostly young men. Some never found, some mutilated bodies, some merely drowned and of course like many places, the police obviously didn't bat an eyelid.

Sam got out a map and began marking the areas where the disappearances occurred, it seemed all the way across state. He sadly put a further red cross in Little Hampton next to where Dean had been taken. He furrowed his brow, looking at the map, there did not seem to be any obvious pattern, something had been snatching young men since 1894.

He looked at the date of one of the articles and began to read 'Mother distraught as young son vanishes'. William Turner, had been out on a fishing trip when he disappeared. William, aged 12 was last seen by a man at the riverside. His fully clothed body was found 32 days after his reported disappearance, floating in a river, the cause of death still remains undetermined.

The next one didn't happen until 1904, ten years later and this was a village over 60 miles away. 16 year old George Smith left his house at 8PM to meet his sweetheart. He never arrived and his body has never been found. Sam scanned through the rest of the articles, noting how the victims seemed to be getting older as time passed. The most recent one was Jack Swift, a 26 year old University graduate; whose car was found abandoned 24 days ago.

He made a list of names, dates and ages starting with 1894 –William Turner, aged 12 and missing for 32 days, all the way through to Jack Swift, aged 26 missing for 24 days and Dean. It was a very peculiar pattern, 25 disappearances, 16 bodies, over 112 year period, missing for varying number of days, the shortest 3 days and the longest, almost a year, forensic reports confirmed that the victim had died just 3 days prior to the body discovery.

'What kind of demon keeps their prey alive, almost a year' He muttered to himself.

"What do you think you are doing?" An angry voice came from behind Sam, startling him. He whirled around to be confronted with a girl, about the same age as him.

"Just what kind of sick freak are you?" She demanded, pointing at the array of articles and marked map. "Did you have something to do with this? Are you responsible for what happened to Jack?"

"No, No" Sam, held his hands up, immediately getting defensive. "My brother is missing and I'm just trying to find out what happened to him"

"So you go to the police and report it then! You don't start digging up old history" The girl replied, still eyeing Sam suspiciously.

"The police won't do anything" Sam declared "They haven't got a clue. People have been vanishing for years and they just ignore it"

"Sorry" the girl said "I saw you looking at stuff about Jack and I freaked. I just want him back"

"I want my brother back too" Sam said, "I'm Sam, Sam Holcastle"

"Nice to meet you Sam, I'm Lucy, Jack is my boyfriend. What happened to your brother?"

Sam looked a little pale. "Dean was taken from our motel room this afternoon"

"Why do you think this is happening?" Lucy cried "Do you think its gangs?"

"I'm not sure" Sam replied "but I'm going to find out, I'll find Dean and Jack".

"What makes you think you can find them?" Lucy said, looking at Sam sceptically. "Are you a cop?"

"Not exactly"

"Well then I want to help you" She said defiantly.

Sam hesitated, he didn't really know exactly what he was up against, didn't want to drag a girl into it, but what choice did he have? Lucy was stood there in front of him, jaw set determinedly, she clearly wouldn't take no for an answer.

He adopted his best winning smile as he asked her "Could you point me in the way of the nearest gas station?"

Dean meanwhile was in his own personal hell, tortured to within an inch of his life, the worst form of torture known to man – boredom. The little girl had gone to bed, some time ago, but had touched Dean's arm again, making him sick and weak. When he had woke up again, he found himself now chained to the ceiling, his wrists were manacled above him, a huge ball attached to his ankle, even at full strength it would have been nigh on impossible to try and break free. He was stuck in his current state, hung up like a piece of meat. Just to add insult to injury, there was a gag stuffed tightly in his mouth and it definitely was not clean, he tried to spit out the offending material, it was so disgusting.

Suddenly an electric light came on, blinding Dean and there stood Sam. Dean's eyes widened in disbelief and he started to try saying something behind the gag. When Sam made no move to help him, Dean suddenly realised, remembering the trick from this morning. His eyes darkened angrily and 'Sam' laughed, coming to stand close to Dean. "You boy" It hissed "Are going to be trouble, I can tell". Still wearing Sam's guise, it gripped Dean's chin forcefully. Dean snarled angrily "She chose you and I respect that but I will not hesitate to hurt you, I can leave scars she would never see on her 'pretty new toy'. You mess her about or hurt her in anyway then I will see to it, that your brother dies." He threatened menacingly. Dean tried to do something, anything but all he could do was dangle his chains and glare. "You will not try to escape, you will do as she says or Sam will die". "Sleep well" He said sarcastically, switching the lights out, leaving Dean alone. How ironic Dean thought "I'm the one in trouble and Sam is still being used as leverage, some things never change" He sighed.

"This is your car?" Lucy said as she and Sam approached the hidden Impala, the appreciation obvious in her voice.

"Yup, this is Dean's pride and joy" Sam replied.

"Wow, I've always wanted to drive a car like this" Lucy stated enthusiastically

"Really?" Sam cocked an eyebrow at the girl. She hardly looked like the car enthusiast type. She was pretty, with long brown held back by a hair band and dressed in tight fitting jeans and heeled boots.

"Jack's a bit of a car obsessive" She revealed then smiled sadly at the memory of her missing boyfriend.

"We'll find him, Lucy I promise" Sam said, as he poured the petrol he had acquired at the gas station into the tank. He got in and Lucy slipped into the passenger seat. The engine however still wouldn't start. "Oh come on!" He sighed, frustrated.

"Let me take a look" Lucy said, jumping out of the car and popping the hood before Sam could reply. Sam handed her a flashlight as she examined the engine like an expert, she didn't seem in the least bit bothered about getting dirty.

"Hmm, that's odd" She muttered

"What is?" Sam asked, feeling slightly embarrassed a girl was helping him with car troubles.

"Well I cant see anything that would make the engine not start" She frowned "Everything is in perfect working order, it's as if the engine just packed up and died all of it's own accord"

Sam got an eerie feeling that somehow it was the area that made the engine die, some supernatural force that was controlling it, he shuddered, and it was a creepy thought. "So what do we do now?" Sam said "We can't fix something that isn't broken in the first place."

Lucy looked troubled for a moment before her face brightened "I have an idea, get behind the wheel and try the engine again when I give the signal"

Sam was confused as to what she could possibly do but did as she said. Lucy's head disappeared under the bonnet again and then her hand went up in a thumbs up sign, Sam turned the key. To his amazement the engine purred beautifully. Lucy shut the bonnet, grinning triumphantly. Sam stared at her in amazement as she climbed into the car. "How did you do that?"

"Oh just a little trick that Jack taught me" She brushed off.

"That's some trick!" Sam said, still confused at to what she could possibly have done to fix a supposedly dead engine so quickly. He decided not to question her, he was just glad to have the Impala working again; he needed it to find Dean.

Next morning Dean woke up to find Alexa already sat, watching him intently. It was the single creepiest thing that he had ever seen; god only knew how long she had been there. "Morning Dean" she smiled, standing up. As she did so Dean could have sworn she was taller than yesterday, her features seemed to be older too. He shook it off; he must have been imagining things. Alexa took the gag off and then slowly released his wrists from the ceiling. Dean was too exhausted to even think about trying to escape her.

"How are you feeling today Dean?" She said, gripping his arm as she steered him out of the room. Once again, it amazed him at the strength of her, she was easily stronger than he was. But that was impossible wasn't it? He found it fascinating to think about just what kind of creature was she, nothing he had come across.

She led him into what looked like a kitchen where her father already was stood over a stove. He wore his usual face this time. There was a mirror above the table and Dean caught a glimpse of himself, it shocked him how awful he looked. He was extremely pale and tired looking and had dark circles around his eyes. Just what had that girl done? She forced him into a chair and served up a bowl of some foul looking gunk. "No" Dean said pushing the bowl away with his cuffed hands.

"You have to eat" She chastised.

Her father saw the exchange and immediately strode round to Dean's chair he held him in place so he couldn't turn his head away. Alexa grabbed a spoonful and forced it towards Dean's lips "No!" Dean panicked, trying to turn away but unable to break Henry's grip.

"Eat it boy!" Henry warned "You know the consequences" Dean reluctantly accepted the strange looking stuff and swallowed, it was as disgusting as he thought it would be, and he automatically gagged but he forced himself to swallow it all down, he knew Henry would not hesitate to carry out his threat against Sam.

"Good Dean" Alexa encouraged "Eat it all up"

It was humiliating to be patronised by a girl but Dean had no choice, he physically could not fight back, and his mind was too messed up for his usual verbal comebacks, Sam would have to find him, because he was not going to be able to save himself.

Lucy and Sam had checked into a motel shortly after getting the Impala working again. It was unlikely they would find anything in the dark; they would have to wait until morning. Neither of them slept though, too worried about their loved ones, they spent the night talking and planning their next move. Sam didn't tell her anything she didn't need to know, himself and Dean had been on a road trip. Sam was taking a break from college. It was almost true, apart from the demon hunting of course, which he left out. He learnt about Lucy too. She was 23, from Little Hampton; she was a university student studying Classic Literature. She left when her mother fell ill and returned home to look after her. Jack was coming to stay with her over the holidays. He never made it. They decided their next plan would be to check out where Jack went missing from.

Obviously it had been a month since Jack's disappearance and the police had been over the area but Sam hoped to find something that they wouldn't. He kneeled down at the roadside where Jack's car had been abandoned. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. "What are we looking for?" asked Lucy. Sam wasn't too sure himself. "Just er things that don't look erm normal" He struggled to come up with an explanation.

"Right" Lucy nodded, wandering some distance away. Sam continued his examination of the roadside. His eyes suddenly spotted something, a grey powder streaked along the road. He turned to see if Lucy was watching him, no she had his back to him. Sam quickly smelt the powder, definitely a sign of the supernatural; he scooped a little into a bag and continued his search.

Lucy was still looking amongst the bushes; she turned to look at Sam who seemed to be intently examining the road. She reached down to remove the large rock and the thing hidden below it.

"Hey!" She shouted "I found something"

Sam jogged over alerted by her cries. "What did you find?"

She held up her discovery "It's Jack's ring," She said sadly "I gave him it for his birthday last year"

"Where did you find it?" Sam asked.

"Just there in the bushes on the ground" She replied instantly.

"I wonder why the police never found it" Sam mused.

"Maybe they weren't looking hard enough" She shrugged, nonplussed.

"I guess not" Sam said, uneasily, the ring couldn't have been lying out in the open like that, the police would surely have found it. So how did Lucy find it so quickly? And why would his ring just be lying there? Things didn't make any sense. Privately, he began to doubt Lucy, she could have easily planted the ring but for what purpose? Sam decided to be cautious around Lucy now he couldn't trust her.

He didn't show any of his suspicions to Lucy; he would confront her when the time was right. "What we really need to see is Jack's car" He said "Do you know where it is?"

"It's in impound I think in town"

"We have to see that car"

"But why surely the police would have taken all the evidence out of it?" Lucy said

"Not necessarily, the ring shows that they have missed things"

"I guess but how are we going to get to see the car, surely it will be locked up"

"There's always a way" Sam grinned.

An hour later, with his fake ID, once again working wonders, Sam was examining the car, as Lucy thought, nearly everything that could have been taken out the car had but the interior remained and it was this that Sam was interested in. There were flecks of blood here and there on the driver's seat but nothing noticeable. There were no markings on the door, the glass in the window had never been broken. A closer examination of the windshield revealed clues. A hair on the outside of the glass and small dents, like the car had perhaps hit something but there was no blood like there should have been. Sam's mind was already returning to Alexa. He imagined himself as Jack driving in the dark and suddenly a girl all dressed in white runs in front of the vehicle. There is no time to brake and he ploughs straight through. There is no sign of tire treads or emergency stop because like the Impala, the engine automatically dies. Jack would race out the car and find the girl, without a scratch on her. All it would take would be a touch of her on his skin and then that would be it.

He was broken from his thoughts by Lucy "Sam! The real police are here, we have got to go!"

Panicked, Sam and Lucy fled the impound, by climbing over the fence, Lucy had no problem at all, clearing the high fence and they ran quickly to the Impala and away.

"So did you find anything?" Lucy said when they were a safe distance away.

"I think Jack was tricked into thinking he had hit someone" was all Sam would reveal. Surprisingly, Lucy didn't seem to want to question it further "So where does that leave us?"

"I also found something else out" Sam said stopping the car.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes" Sam said "why didn't you tell me you were in the car?"

"I wasn't" She immediately denied "I couldn't have been"

"You were in the backseat" Sam accused "I found your hairs"

"They could have been there for ages!" She angrily bristled

"Lucy, you can just tell me the truth, if you saw something, you really need to tell me, I will believe you"

There was something in Sam's eyes that said she could trust him.

"What did you see Lucy?" Sam gently probed.

"I had to lie, nobody would believe me" She said "I'm not even sure what I saw, I was asleep. Jack and I were returning from a party I never should have been at. I felt sick so slept on the backseat, Jack drove. I remember him pulling up and leaving the car and I wondered why. So I got out and and and…"Tears formed in her eyes. "Jack was gone and there was just this girl. She was really evil looking but the worst thing was" She finished barely in a whisper… "She didn't look human. How could I tell the police that? I just ran! Never even reported him missing. His parents did that!"

"This girl" Sam probed "Can you tell me what she looked like?"

"You actually _believe _me?" Lucy said in amazement "you don't think I'm crazy?"

Sam put his hand on Lucy's shoulder. "I believe you"

"She was streaked in blood and had these really evil looking eyes, she was dressed all in white, I mean she just didn't look human, her face was disfigured but I mean that's not possible is it, and things like that only exist in nightmares!" She seemed to look to Sam for some reassurance, that what she saw was just some nightmare.

Sam's grim expression offered no comfort. "Lucy, we have to realise there are things going on which are beyond the normal realms of explanation and rationality"

"You mean like myths and legends…"

"Exactly like myths and legends!" Sam exclaimed "only they are not myths, they're real"

"Oh god" Lucy whitened

"I know it's a lot to take in…" Sam started

"No, no, its not that. Ohio has always had this myth, this lore about a girl like creature searching for a husband, I never believed it, it was just a ghost story"

"Wait, you said a girl? Don't you mean a child?"

"No, no she was definitely not a child, she was probably about 16 or 17 years old"

Sam refused to believe the girl wasn't involved, but Lucy was so adamant, and spooked, she knew what she saw, so what was going on? Another girl perhaps? A sister? The question was, what to do now? Where did he go from here, Sam Winchester for once in his life did not have an answer.


End file.
